ANCIENT MEMORY

“El Salto, this falling-off place, a narrow rocky cleft in which lies a great cave believed to have been used during human sacrifices in ancient times. Over the top of the cave cascades a waterfall - un salto de agua - which freezes into stalactites and stalagmites covering its opening with a curtain of ice. The rocky back walls used to be inscribed with prehistoric petroglyphs. The area was reputedly full of brujas, witches whose midnight rendezvous was the cave of El Salto.”
— Frank Waters

Apparently the area of El Salto was the first land to be sold to white people, the mountain of ‘El Cuchillo del Medio’ was said to be cursed and therefore not wanted. Its bare granite chest seems to have been sliced down the middle with a serrated knife. This naked negative polarity stands across the positive ‘Sacred Mountain’ on the Taos Pueblo. For many centuries witches and outcasts were sent through and out the valley into the cave, the abandoned womb space. The missionaries also ran their crusade through these tribal mountains, shunning the inexplainable knowledge of self and the universal forces around. There is much lore about what exactly took place on El Salto but walking here today and bathing in the falling river, I become animated with the memory of this living land. 

When we visit ancient sites bringing our own deep presence, we can enter the mind of the universe, the ocean of the infinite. The Great Pyramid, Stonehenge, Tikal, etc, are all transcendent structures designed to stimulate the spiritual powers within us — to then achieve harmony with the universal currents around us. But before these structures stands the wisdom of our holy mountains, which underneath are all connected by invisible lines, reflecting cosmic geometry. This earth is a living body with nervous system and heartbeat — carrying life’s energy. All life follows a circular, cyclical motion. With this turn, the earth is revealing its secrets. Ancient people understood movement as the way of the universe. Nothing in nature is static. Seeing in a sacred manner, we merge with universal consciousness and return to our original wholeness. El Cuchillo del Medio and the Sacred Mountain are not static manifestations of male yang and female yin polarities. They have begun to integrate each other. 

Not knowing about the mythical history of this land, our nomadic path brought us to move to an eclectic chalet on El Salto in the early winter of 2025. An immediate sense of familiarity and belonging engulfed us when we first drove onto the dirt road. The rising mountain as our backyard while our vista reached through the contouring pine trees beyond the flattened spine of Pedernal. Suddenly we live in a place where we don’t feel like outsiders but are in transparent resonance with the community. Within one week of our arrival, stories about El Salto began to float into our field — no questions asked, just offered as expressions of intuition. This is how we learned of the witches and the residence of the prolific writer Frank Waters, who lived right where the pavement ends and the dirt road starts. 

The Egyptians considered their ways and language as a resonant echo of the vital energy that courses through the cosmos. I consider my naked gestures as such. Each time we walked to the salto de agua, my chest filled with an inner anticipation to perceive something serendipitous. Always we were graced by shapeshifting ice castles, but only sometimes we could hear the sounds of spirits bathing. Closed eyes, their presence was vivid. Eyes open, there was just the shallow pool with rocks in its center catching the cascading splashes. To embody my ancient imprint, I undress. The pores of my flesh open to the natural elements, my body transcends the story of this lifetime. Marking my unveiling with incense or sage, I bow my head, embrace myself and I become — the land, the warrior, the witch, the goddess.

Dedicated to our neighbor, the visionary writer & poet Frank Waters.


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